ST. MARY STAR OF THE SEA, PARISH COUNCIL
Council minutes for REGULAR meeting of January 26, 2004
President Rosemary Frombach called the meeting of the Parish Council to order at 7:04 P. M.. Present were Rosemary Frombach, Pres.; Robert Bonato, V. P.; Neil Lynch, Sec'y; Fr. John Golas; elected members Tom Carrier, Carol Charette, Jim Doyle, Jon LeBlanc, Pat Messina, Ed O'Reilly, Judy Welcome; Trustees Elizabeth Creehan, Ed Cruess, Sr.; Jane Derasadourian and MaryLou Meigs. Absent were Deacons Michael Sponzo and Tom Sutak; elected members MaryJane Oliveira and Mary Yale.
Rosemary called on Fr. Golas who, following a moment of reflection and an opening prayer, read the gospel for the following Sunday, after which he commented on it. He then charged the Council members to discuss among themselves the gospel's relevance to our everyday lives.
MINUTES: The Minutes of November 10 should have indicated that the Appreciation Dinner included Extraordinary Ministers. MOVED (Ed C, Tom), that the Minutes, as corrected, of November 10,2003, be accepted. Carried unanimously.
EDUCATION: MaryLou discussed the VIRTUS (Latin for "virtue") program that any teacher, monitor, et al. having contact with children in CCD must go through. Having experienced the 3-4 hour program herself, MaryLou, despite earlier misgivings, found it very valuable. She does anticipate a greater challenge, initially, in getting enough teachers to cover all of the classes. It may also have an impact on the number of classes held in the home. Fr. Golas informed the Council that priests were required to go through a similar program.
Jane stated that she has 130 youngsters in the Confirmation group, which has had outstanding attendance so far. Aside from providing a grounding in the faith, a continuing goal this year is to integrate the candidates into the Parish community as much as possible, hoping this will lead to their becoming more active adult members of their church.
Deacon Mike gave a presentation entitled "God and Health" in the Church Hall on January 11.
LITURGY: Jon reported that there are three catechumens and one candidate in the R.C.I.A. program. He went through the schedule with the Council. There are presently 39 members in the choir, triggering a discussion of the new church which has space presently for only 25. Necessary adjustments will be made. Jon noted that the Appreciation Dinner was well attended and that those present enjoyed it. In anticipation of the opening of the new St. Mary's, two orientation meetings, on February 2nd and 3rd, are planned. Deacon Tom is coordinating the dedication ceremony which is expected to attract a large number of attendees. The dedication Mass, scheduled for 2 P. M. on February 15, will be of considerable length.
In preparation for Easter, a Mission in late March is planned during Lent.
OTHER COMMITTEE REPORTS:
1. Human Needs-The Committee has been involved in a number of activities, including assisting
the Farmington Lions with their "Haunted House"; selling of St. Mary's commemorative mugs to
benefit the building fund; setting up the "Giving Tree" and distributing the gifts; and selling Christmas wreaths as a fund-raiser. A teddy bear collection is planned for February.
2. Website-Ed 0' needs updates on various happenings. He has added a search engine to the website. He has also added a page on the choir. It was suggested that the Sunday bulletin include the procedure for accessing the web site.
3 . Cemetery-The newly seeded section of the cemetery appears to have taken root. Two brass
plaques have been mounted at the entrances.
NEW CHURCH UPDATE: The pews for the new church are presently being installed. Not everything will be ready for the February 15th dedication. The organ, for example, cannot be moved until any dust trom the construction has settled. The stations of the cross have been moved trom the present Church and mounted in the new; it was found unnecessary to trame them as was the original intent. Fr. Golas aspects of the dedication ceremony including the use of ancient symbols associated with the early Church. Parish Council members were asked to act as guides during the Parish Open House to be held in the new Church on February 8.
OLD BUSINESS: Neil Lynch, responsible for updating the history of St. Mary's since the Church's centennial in 1976, distributed a time line of Church-related events trom 1977 to 2004. He asked the Council to look over the time line in terms of its accuracy and to see if anyone has things to add, particularly during the late 70s and early 80s when few Church records are extant.
NEW BUSINESS: Jon passed around a booklet trom St. Peter's Church in Torrington that includes information about various aspects of that Church. He raised the possibility of doing something like that for St. Mary's. A decision on this idea was deferred.
Fr. Golas indicated that, sometime in the near future, a committee will be formed to make recommendations regarding the present St. Mary's Church building.
The next meeting of the Council will take place on Monday, March 22, 2004 with an anticipated starting time of 7 P. M. Check the Sunday Bulletin for the location. Fr. Golas led the Council in a closing prayer. There being no further business, Rosemary adjourned the meeting at 8:36 P. M.
Cornelius Lynch, Secretary
ST. MARY STAR OF THE SEA PRAY FOR US.